Meaning & use
turned
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“turned” is a form of “turn”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Moved around a point or axis, or faced a new direction.
Grammar: With or without an object: she turned the key, or he turned and left.
Patterns
- turn to someone
- turn something over
- turn around
She turned the key and opened the door.
He turned to look at the noise behind him.
The car turned left at the lights.
verblinking
Changed into something different, or became a different condition or color.
Grammar: Often followed by an adjective or into: the milk turned sour, the frog turned into a prince.
Patterns
- turn into something
- turn + adjective
The leaves turned red in October.
The rain turned to snow overnight.
He turned pale when he saw the bill.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Directed attention, effort or a device toward something.
Grammar: Often followed by to: she turned to her friend for advice.
Patterns
- turn to someone
- turn something on someone
They turned to their neighbors for help.
The coach turned his attention to defense.
She turned the camera toward the crowd.
verbtransitive
Reached or passed a particular age or time.
Grammar: Takes an age or time as object: turned thirty, turned the corner.
Patterns
- turn thirty
- turn the page
My grandmother turned ninety last week.
The company turned a profit this year.
Turned the corner, the cyclist sped away.
Common combinations
- turned around
- He turned around and waved.
- turned out
- The day turned out better than expected.
- turned into
- The small shop turned into a large chain.
- turned down
- She turned down the job offer.
- turned on
- He turned on the lights.
- turned away
- The club turned away anyone without a ticket.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rotated
- Rotated is more technical and means spinning around a fixed center, while turned is general.
- became
- Became states a change of state, whereas turned often suggests a sudden or visible change.
- twisted
- Twisted implies bending or wringing, while turned is simply moving to face another way.
- spun
- Spun means turning fast and repeatedly, but turned can be a single slow movement.
Opposites
Word family
- turn verb
- to move around or change direction
- turn noun
- an act of turning, or a chance to do something
- turning noun
- a place where a road branches off
- turnaround noun
- a complete change or a time to finish a task
- turner noun
- a tool or person that turns things
Commonly confused: turned or tuned?
turned vs tuned
Tuned means adjusted a musical instrument or a radio, and is a different verb from turned.
Practice
The weather ___ cold quickly after sunset, so we put on our jackets.
Choose one answer.
Turned is the past tense and works as a linking verb before cold. Became to is ungrammatical, and the other options are wrong forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “turned”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.